Chapter 2 Chapter 1 Apprenticeship
My hometown is in Jiangjin, Chongqing, which was still part of Sichuan Province at that time, and it was a small county.The house in my hometown is an old-fashioned structure, a bit like a Beijing courtyard house. There is a lobby room in the middle, and there are several bedrooms on the left and right sides, all of which are made of mud and tiles.
That day, grandpa followed great-grandfather back home with a hoe and a shovel on his shoulders. As soon as he entered the yard from the pond opposite the hall, he saw three people sitting in the middle of the hall.Among them, two middle-aged men were sitting in the center with teacups, both with beards on their faces, in their early forties.And next to the two of them, there was a kid sitting on the ground, Grandpa knew him very well.He grew up wearing crotch pants with his grandfather and is the youngest son of the Zhang family.Because he is very mischievous, everyone in this area, young and old, knows him, and everyone can't figure out his name, just call him Zhang Qi.
As soon as the great-grandfather entered the house, he exchanged greetings with the two middle-aged men, and it was nothing more than some gossip.Grandpa learned their names from their conversation. The taller one was named Yu Guangcai, and the other was Li Wei, who was Yu Guangcai's great apprentice.
Under the instruction of great-grandfather, grandpa said hello to the two elders, and then dragged Zhang Qi out of the main room.It is rare to have a free day, and of course the two of them want to have a good time.
Walking to the edge of the small pond in front of the house, Zhang Qi suddenly stopped and said mysteriously: "Do you know the two adults from your family?"
"I don't know." Grandpa shook his head, "They seem to know my father very well."
"They are very powerful!" Zhang Qi seemed to have something to say.
Grandpa knew that Zhang Qi was a master of nonsense, so he didn't pay attention to his words, and said, "Of course, my father is so good."
"Fuck you, your dad is just a slap, a slap can swell your face." Zhang Qi pointed at a small bruise on his grandfather's face and smiled.
Grandpa seemed to have been poked into his weakness, and realized that this was indeed a shameful thing, so he changed the subject and asked, "Then tell me, how are they so powerful?"
"Do you know the pond in Lijiawan opposite?" Zhang Qi asked in a low voice.
Grandpa nodded.Lijiawan is not far from home. Before being dragged to work by my great-grandfather, my grandfather went there twice.The owner of that pond was Li Huai'en, a well-known landlord in this area. There were all kinds of fish in the pond, both fat and big.
"Today, I went to play there with the youngest of your family. There was no one in the Li family, and the family dog didn't know where it went. We went to the pond to catch a carp, and then roasted it in the bamboo forest below. .” Zhang Qi was still a little bit unsatisfied when he said it, and he clicked his mouth.
Grandpa was also infected by his appearance, and his stomach growled.
"As a result, the youngest kid seems to have not eaten a full meal for a few days. He gnawed on the fish before it was cooked. He ate it too fast and the fishbone got stuck." Zhang Qi said, "I scooped it up for him. A big ladle of water, but no matter how you pour it, the fishbone just won’t go down, and I was so anxious at the time. You also know that your father likes the third child. If I secretly give him fish to eat, he will be stuck. If something goes wrong, I will definitely be beaten to death by him."
Grandpa looked around and was also surprised that the naughty third child disappeared today, and he was not seen when he entered the house just now.
"Later, I went home and got a piece of steamed bun, and gave half to him. That's my dinner." Zhang Qi was obviously unwilling, "I told him not to chew it, but to swallow it in one go, but he burst into tears." See, the momo went down, but the fishbone was still stuck in the throat. At that time, the blood came out, and the third child was so frightened that he burst into tears. As a result, at this time, the two adults came up from under the bamboo forest and saw the old man San was crying, but when he asked, he found out that it was your baby, so he quickly brought him in. He didn't say anything to your mother at that time, so he ordered her to bring out a bowl of water. The tall man took it out of his bag. A piece of talisman paper, I held it between two fingers, read some strange words, the talisman paper started to burn, and it was almost burnt. Most of the ashes fell into the bowl. The high Han picked up the bowl of water, squinted his eyes and read aloud for a while. After reading, he handed the bowl of water to your mother, and asked your mother to feed the third child to drink, and finished it in three mouthfuls. I think, at that time, the old San must have been stunned. He followed your mother's instructions and poured the water from the bowl into his stomach in three mouthfuls. Damn it, it's full of ashes!" After Zhang Qi finished speaking, he looked surprised.
"Then what happened?" Grandpa urged.
"Heh, the blame is here. The third child poured the bowl of water into his stomach, and it didn't take long before everything was fine!"
Seeing Zhang Qi's adoring expression, Grandpa's stubborn temper began to flare up again.He said: "What's the matter, maybe the water you gave the third child to drink and the steamed buns you ate before have almost slid down the fishbone. The bowl of water is just a coincidence, how can it be so magical!"
After finishing speaking, grandpa ran towards the house.
Grandpa walked around the main room, opened the door and entered the bedroom.Third Grandpa was still lying on that gum bed, with half of his head hanging on the edge of the bed, apparently he had fallen asleep. At this moment, great-grandmother walked in, and was setting up a ladder to get the piece of bacon hanging on the beam of the house.The piece of bacon was bought by great-grandfather after pooling money for a long time. He said that he would not be able to eat it until the Chinese New Year. Grandpa and Third Grandpa stood under the beam every day, drooling at it.So, when grandpa saw this scene, he immediately stepped forward and stopped great-grandmother: "No, this is for the Chinese New Year!" Great-grandmother was notoriously good-natured. She put down the ladder and said to grandpa: "Boss, those two guests outside are distinguished guests at home. They know a lot from heaven and earth. They come all the way. I just helped so much, and took out the fishbone in the throat of the third child. Without their help, I would have been beaten by the thief doctor in the village. We should thank them." Grandpa got angry when he heard that, and pouted and said: "That's not okay, we won't have meat to eat during the Chinese New Year. I saw that those two people came here to eat and drink, and they were not honest at all." "How did you talk?!" Great-grandmother seldom lost her temper. Seeing that grandpa was frightened, she immediately softened her tone, "Let's get it and eat it tonight, and it will be Chinese New Year." Grandpa knows that his mother loves him very much. That kind of love is seldom spoken, but it is all hidden in an action or a look. Only those who understand can understand it.Grandpa moved away, and began to curse the two bearded men in the main room inwardly. Just as dinner was about to be served in the evening, Zhang Qi came down from the big slope.He said that he smelled the aroma of meat, and immediately ran down.To be honest, Zhang Qi lived on the top of the big slope, at least a few hundred meters away from his grandfather's house, so until now his grandfather hadn't figured out how Zhang Qi could smell the smell of meat. The third grandfather woke up and still remembered what happened during the day, so he insisted that Zhang Qi got him stabbed and prevented him from going to the table.Although the third grandfather is young, he also knows that if one more person eats, he will eat a lot less.The great-grandmother saw what he was thinking, and while persuading the third grandpa, asked Zhang Qi to come to the table.The great-grandmother said: "Third son, you can't finish eating so much, otherwise mom will give Zhang Qi her share." As soon as the words came out, the great-grandmother insisted on not picking up another piece of meat.Grandpa saw it and became anxious, so he gave half of his meat to great-grandmother.The two adults on the side praised Grandpa for being sensible, which made the great-grandmother laugh cheerfully. Great-grandfather said: "Smart fart, temper like a donkey!" "Old Hu, you are wrong. The land that grows this year is not as good as every year. It is not easy to eat two meals a day. Looking at the bacon in this house, you can tell that it has been hanging for many days without asking. I don’t know how long it will take for them to have a meal. In this situation, he can still think of his mother. If it was decades ago, it would have been difficult for us when we were young." The tall man named Yu Guangcai While speaking, his eyes never moved away from Grandpa. When the great-grandfather heard this, his eyes lit up: "Master Yu, do you really have a crush on him?" Yu Guangcai took a sip of Guangkan wine and narrowed his eyes. He clearly understood the meaning of his great-grandfather's words: "I have intentions, but I don't know if your child has intentions." Great-grandfather turned around and yelled at grandpa: "Kowtow to master quickly!" Grandpa was baffled by what he heard. He hasn't said a word to this person until now.So, grandpa said: "Don't knock, I don't even know what he does!" "Are you knocking or not?" Great-grandfather stood up and raised his hand to slap him across the face, but Yu Guangcai stopped him with his hand.He said: "The most important thing about apprenticeship is your love and my willingness. If you slap me, it won't do anything. Why don't you let me explain it to him, ha ha." It turned out that Yu Guangcai was a famous "traveler" in this area. "Zaojianghu" is another name for their pedestrians. To put it bluntly, it means sending the dead to heaven.Yu Guangcai has a special funeral band, and there are about seven or eight people playing and singing in it. Yu Guangcai usually doesn't participate in it. His job is to do things to reassure the dead and avoid disasters for the living.And the man named Li Wei on the side is Yu Guangcai's great apprentice, sometimes he will do some rituals instead of Yu Guangcai, but what he can do is the normal death rituals, if the deceased is wronged or the cause of death is unknown, then Yu Guangcai is still required Do it yourself.This time, the reason why they came was because the daughter-in-law of the landlord's family in Lijiawan died in a foreign land and wanted to come to preside over the funeral. When Yu Guangcai said this, a gust of wind came in from outside and blew out the weak lights in the room.Great-grandmother was a little scared when she heard this, and quickly lit the oil lamp. "I don't believe it. When a person dies, he rots in the mud. What's so special about that?" Grandpa said. Yu Guangcai smiled and said: "In fact, this world is nothing more than Yin and Yang. Living people live in Yang, weaving clothes and farming every day, and living on food. When people die in Yin, they become invisible, and they are accompanied by the night. They can't even walk. Silently." Grandpa looked at Yu Guangcai and didn't speak. "You still don't believe it?" Yu Guangcai asked, then took out a compass from his bag, saw the pointer on it clearly by the light, and said in a low voice, "To tell you the truth, there are things from the underworld in this yard." "You mean, there are...dirty things in this yard?" Great-grandfather asked, dragging the last three words very long, for fear of offending something. Yu Guangcai was still smiling, with a look of no surprise.He said: "Little brother, you still don't believe it? It's very simple, we can try it." Grandpa heard this, raised his head and said, "Huh, try it, if it is true, I will give you all my meat." "Okay!" Yu Guangcai's voice was particularly hearty.After finishing speaking, he turned his head and told Li Wei who was at the side, "Go and prepare something, and open the eyes of your future junior." Li Wei went out in response.
About ten minutes later, Li Wei opened the door and came in.I don't know where he went in such a short time, and his face was dirty.The third grandfather glanced at him and couldn't help laughing out loud, revealing two missing front teeth. Li Wei ignored it, leaned over to Yu Guangcai's ear and said, "Get ready." Immediately, a smile appeared on Yu Guangcai's face.He said, "Little brother, shall we start now?" Grandpa actually had a guilty conscience, but even though he was poor all his life, he was more stubborn than anyone else.After he snorted, he threw open the door and stepped out of the high threshold. Walking into the courtyard dam, with the help of the moonlight, Grandpa saw clearly the things placed in the courtyard dam.A small stool was placed in the middle, and a circle of lime was sprinkled around it, just enclosing the small stool. There was also a dark imprint on the white lime.And within two steps directly in front of the stool, there were actually three tiles, one on each side, and the roof was covered in the middle, forming the appearance of a house.Presumably, Li Wei's face was covered with dust because of these three tiles. Grandpa didn't know what it was used for, and thought that this thing could also let me see that thing? At this time, Yu Guangcai stepped forward and patted his grandfather on the shoulder: "Young man, you will sit on that little stool later, with your hands flat in front of your knees, and the more upright you can sit, then close your eyes and go on." No matter what sounds you hear when you come down, don't move around, let alone open your eyes. If you hear someone talking to you, you should close your eyes and answer him. When the time is almost up, I will open the door and come out to call you. " Grandpa responded coldly, stepped into the circle surrounded by lime without saying a word, and then sat down on the small stool. The great-grandmother was still a little worried, so she turned her head and asked Yu Guangcai: "Master Yu, will there be any problems with this?" "Don't worry, as long as he does what I say, he will be fine." Yu Guangcai told the rest of the people to enter the house. Zhang Qi walked last, he looked very curious, wishing that the person sitting on the stool was himself.After taking two steps away, he turned around again, lowered his head and said to his grandfather, "Remember to tell me how it feels when you come back later." Grandpa didn't answer Zhang Qi, who was gloating at his misfortune, and waved him away repeatedly. When Zhang Qi entered the house, Grandpa only heard a "squeak" behind him, and the door was closed.The faint light was forcibly blocked behind the heavy wooden door. Grandpa gasped, turned around, and slowly closed his eyes. At that time, the summer nights began to cool down at night.Originally, the yard was located in a low-lying place. As long as there was a gust of cool wind coming in, it would keep swirling in the ditch, making the nearby dense bamboo forest rustle. After sitting on that stool for about five minutes, Grandpa didn't open his eyes or move around, but there was nothing around except the sound of the wind and the screams of some small animals.He thought to himself, this Yu Guangcai must be playing tricks on himself, thinking that if I sit in the empty courtyard with my eyes closed for a while, I will be frightened. This is simply underestimating me! Grandpa sneered in his heart, and sleepiness suddenly came to his mind.But at this moment, he actually heard the sound of rustling footsteps coming closer and closer from the bamboo forest in front of the house, the sound sounded light and ethereal.I stepped on the path covered with bamboo leaves and walked all the way.Beside the small puddle in front of the house, the sound of footsteps suddenly disappeared. Grandpa didn't feel that the owner of the footsteps was going away, the other party was just standing at the corner of the puddle, maybe staring at him intently. After the footsteps paused for a few seconds, they walked towards Grandpa.Grandpa closed his eyes tightly, and his heart was beating violently, so he couldn't help but swallow saliva to relieve it, but it was obvious that such a method would not have a fundamental effect.The sound of footsteps floated in front of Grandpa and stopped. "Who are you?" Grandpa asked, keeping Yu Guangcai's words in mind, without opening his eyes. The owner of those footsteps seemed to have heard Grandpa's question, and knelt down in front of Grandpa with a plop.Immediately, a soft female voice came from Grandpa's ear: "Lord of the Land, my little girl didn't know this was your mountain, so I offended you so much, please forgive me." Lord of the land?Grandpa was confused by her words.Could it be that the earth temple is built with tiles in front of the stool?Thinking of it this way, grandpa's confidence was enough at once. Grandpa smiled slightly, and his voice became more forceful: "I'm asking who are you?" Hearing this, the female voice became a little nervous: "The little girl's surname is Li, and she lived in Lijiawan not far in front of her when she was alive. This time, she died in a foreign land and arrived home after walking for seven days. Please let the land master pass by." "It's not a big deal to pass by, but you didn't come to worship the god when you came here. What's your intention?" Grandpa asked. In the game, if you are not careful, you will be in trouble.So, he had no choice but to close his eyes firmly as Yu Guangcai wanted. "To tell you the truth, I lived not far away before I was alive, and I never remembered that there was a temple here. It must be that someone has invited you to Zhenshan. The death of the little girl is strange. I came back this time to clarify the matter. Second, I want to see my son." The female voice choked up. "Since you don't know about it, and I don't pursue your faults, since you have something to do, please go back quickly, and don't make trouble." Grandpa randomly found a bunch of opera lyrics in his mind, and said with a slightly childish tone. After finishing speaking, another question came up, he asked, "Do you still remember how you died?" "Woooo..." Her cry seemed very far away, as if it came from a deep well, "I just remember that I went to Tianjin with Shaohua that day, saying that I wanted to meet a friend of his, and we finished eating that day. After dinner, we went back to the hotel together, but when I slept until midnight, I woke up in a daze. The room was very dark and I couldn't see, but when I was about to get up, I covered my mouth and nose with one hand , I can’t remember anything after that.” After hearing this, Grandpa's hairs stood on end. He said: "It seems that there is indeed a grievance. I will let you go here for the time being. You can go." After grandpa finished speaking, she didn't make another sound.Grandpa only heard her get up, and just took two steps, then stopped again. What happened again?Why don't you leave?Grandpa was at a loss. At this time, he heard the female voice yelling: "You are not a land lord, who are you?!" As soon as the voice fell, Grandpa felt that she came forward quickly, and a cold hand grabbed his neck.Grandpa tried his best to catch his breath, but the air in his stomach got stuck as soon as it reached his neck, and he whimpered a few times with difficulty. Gradually, his mind felt more and more empty...
At this moment, the branches and leaves in the bamboo forest outside the yard are surging, as if the plants in the entire mountain are alive.Grandpa thought, anyway, it's all over now, so it's better to open your eyes and see what happened.He squinted his eyes forcibly, and his vision was blurry. There was a "squeak" sound behind him, and a dazzling light covered the entire courtyard.At this moment, grandpa's chest full of breath came from his neck, and the hands that were strangling his neck disappeared. Grandpa coughed violently, and when he calmed down a bit, great-grandfather and others had already stood in front of him. "Junzhi, are you alright?" Great-grandmother rushed forward with a worried look on her face, and pulled grandpa into her arms. Grandpa was almost suffocated by his great-grandmother, and finally broke free from her embrace. He gasped and said, "I finally escaped from the female ghost, and now you come again!" "What are you talking nonsense about? Your mother cares about you!" Great-grandfather's words always carried weight, so grandpa had to shut up after hearing this. "You didn't open your eyes just now, did you?" Yu Guangcai squeezed up from behind the crowd, looked around, and then smiled again, "It seems to be a woman." Hearing this, Grandpa got excited and asked, "How do you know it's a woman, it's obviously a man!" "What's so difficult about it?" Yu Guangcai knelt down, pointed to the circle of lime beside his grandfather's stool, and said, "Look at this lime." Grandpa and others took advantage of the light from the house and squatted down to look, only to see two four-inch-sized footprints on the limestone.When several people saw it, they all stared blankly. Thinking of a female ghost standing on the limestone circle and pinching him just now, Grandpa couldn't help but get scared.He turned his head and looked around. He was afraid that the female ghost hadn't gone far, but was still hiding in a corner of the yard, peeping at them with squinted eyes.Maybe he is gnashing his teeth right now, wishing he could peel off Grandpa's skin. Grandpa couldn't help shivering, and turned his gaze back. "Just now, did you encounter something interesting?" This time the person who asked the question was Li Wei. In contrast, grandpa is not disgusted with him.He said: "It's nothing, it's just that she recognized me as a land lord, but I don't know how she suddenly saw me through later." "It shouldn't be." Yu Guangcai looked around again, but found nothing wrong.After a long time, he frowned and murmured, "Could it be..." As he spoke, Yu Guangcai glanced at Li Wei, who also nodded to him.Immediately, Li Wei turned his head and asked, "Then did you say anything to her?" "Yes!" Grandpa suddenly got excited, "Don't tell me, this is really fun." Zhang Qi on the side swallowed hard, only regretting that he didn't experience this fun game with his grandfather.He hurriedly asked: "Then have you seen what she looks like? Is she good?" Grandpa heard this, and slapped Zhang Qi on the head: "Be good! I never opened my eyes from the beginning to the end!" Yu Guangcai and Li Wei didn't smile when they heard this. Yu Guangcai took a breath and asked, "Did she say her name?" "Well, she said that she was the daughter-in-law of the Li family and died in another place. She came back this time to find out the cause of her death and to see her children by the way." As soon as grandpa finished speaking, the expressions of Yu Guangcai and Li Wei changed instantly.The two looked at each other, only to hear Yu Guangcai muttering: "It turns out that he died unjustly, it seems that it is not that simple." "Any more questions? Master Yu?" Great-grandfather stepped forward and asked. Yu Guangcai narrowed his eyes and said: "Yesterday, Li Huai'en from Lijiawan sent a follower to find me, saying that my daughter-in-law died in a foreign land, and the body would be sent home tomorrow. At that time, I had other business, but the follower said, I can't do a funeral, I didn't think about it that much at the time, but now it seems that this matter is really not simple." "With Master Yu here, I believe that no matter how troublesome things are, they will be solved." The great-grandfather compared Yu Guangcai with even more confidence, "Look, our child..." Yu Guangcai laughed. He turned to his grandfather and said, "How about it? We're going to Li's house tomorrow. Are you interested?" Grandpa took a look at Yu Guangcai and said, "Go! But I'm only interested in that female ghost, and it has nothing to do with you." After the grandfather finished speaking, the group of people laughed.The moonlight that night was really bright, so bright that Grandpa could clearly see the change on Yu Guangcai's face the moment he turned around.He looked in the direction of Li's house in the valley, the eyelid of his left eye twitched a few times, his expression worried.
Grandpa walked around the main room, opened the door and entered the bedroom.Third Grandpa was still lying on that gum bed, with half of his head hanging on the edge of the bed, apparently he had fallen asleep. At this moment, great-grandmother walked in, and was setting up a ladder to get the piece of bacon hanging on the beam of the house.The piece of bacon was bought by great-grandfather after pooling money for a long time. He said that he would not be able to eat it until the Chinese New Year. Grandpa and Third Grandpa stood under the beam every day, drooling at it.So, when grandpa saw this scene, he immediately stepped forward and stopped great-grandmother: "No, this is for the Chinese New Year!" Great-grandmother was notoriously good-natured. She put down the ladder and said to grandpa: "Boss, those two guests outside are distinguished guests at home. They know a lot from heaven and earth. They come all the way. I just helped so much, and took out the fishbone in the throat of the third child. Without their help, I would have been beaten by the thief doctor in the village. We should thank them." Grandpa got angry when he heard that, and pouted and said: "That's not okay, we won't have meat to eat during the Chinese New Year. I saw that those two people came here to eat and drink, and they were not honest at all." "How did you talk?!" Great-grandmother seldom lost her temper. Seeing that grandpa was frightened, she immediately softened her tone, "Let's get it and eat it tonight, and it will be Chinese New Year." Grandpa knows that his mother loves him very much. That kind of love is seldom spoken, but it is all hidden in an action or a look. Only those who understand can understand it.Grandpa moved away, and began to curse the two bearded men in the main room inwardly. Just as dinner was about to be served in the evening, Zhang Qi came down from the big slope.He said that he smelled the aroma of meat, and immediately ran down.To be honest, Zhang Qi lived on the top of the big slope, at least a few hundred meters away from his grandfather's house, so until now his grandfather hadn't figured out how Zhang Qi could smell the smell of meat. The third grandfather woke up and still remembered what happened during the day, so he insisted that Zhang Qi got him stabbed and prevented him from going to the table.Although the third grandfather is young, he also knows that if one more person eats, he will eat a lot less.The great-grandmother saw what he was thinking, and while persuading the third grandpa, asked Zhang Qi to come to the table.The great-grandmother said: "Third son, you can't finish eating so much, otherwise mom will give Zhang Qi her share." As soon as the words came out, the great-grandmother insisted on not picking up another piece of meat.Grandpa saw it and became anxious, so he gave half of his meat to great-grandmother.The two adults on the side praised Grandpa for being sensible, which made the great-grandmother laugh cheerfully. Great-grandfather said: "Smart fart, temper like a donkey!" "Old Hu, you are wrong. The land that grows this year is not as good as every year. It is not easy to eat two meals a day. Looking at the bacon in this house, you can tell that it has been hanging for many days without asking. I don’t know how long it will take for them to have a meal. In this situation, he can still think of his mother. If it was decades ago, it would have been difficult for us when we were young." The tall man named Yu Guangcai While speaking, his eyes never moved away from Grandpa. When the great-grandfather heard this, his eyes lit up: "Master Yu, do you really have a crush on him?" Yu Guangcai took a sip of Guangkan wine and narrowed his eyes. He clearly understood the meaning of his great-grandfather's words: "I have intentions, but I don't know if your child has intentions." Great-grandfather turned around and yelled at grandpa: "Kowtow to master quickly!" Grandpa was baffled by what he heard. He hasn't said a word to this person until now.So, grandpa said: "Don't knock, I don't even know what he does!" "Are you knocking or not?" Great-grandfather stood up and raised his hand to slap him across the face, but Yu Guangcai stopped him with his hand.He said: "The most important thing about apprenticeship is your love and my willingness. If you slap me, it won't do anything. Why don't you let me explain it to him, ha ha." It turned out that Yu Guangcai was a famous "traveler" in this area. "Zaojianghu" is another name for their pedestrians. To put it bluntly, it means sending the dead to heaven.Yu Guangcai has a special funeral band, and there are about seven or eight people playing and singing in it. Yu Guangcai usually doesn't participate in it. His job is to do things to reassure the dead and avoid disasters for the living.And the man named Li Wei on the side is Yu Guangcai's great apprentice, sometimes he will do some rituals instead of Yu Guangcai, but what he can do is the normal death rituals, if the deceased is wronged or the cause of death is unknown, then Yu Guangcai is still required Do it yourself.This time, the reason why they came was because the daughter-in-law of the landlord's family in Lijiawan died in a foreign land and wanted to come to preside over the funeral. When Yu Guangcai said this, a gust of wind came in from outside and blew out the weak lights in the room.Great-grandmother was a little scared when she heard this, and quickly lit the oil lamp. "I don't believe it. When a person dies, he rots in the mud. What's so special about that?" Grandpa said. Yu Guangcai smiled and said: "In fact, this world is nothing more than Yin and Yang. Living people live in Yang, weaving clothes and farming every day, and living on food. When people die in Yin, they become invisible, and they are accompanied by the night. They can't even walk. Silently." Grandpa looked at Yu Guangcai and didn't speak. "You still don't believe it?" Yu Guangcai asked, then took out a compass from his bag, saw the pointer on it clearly by the light, and said in a low voice, "To tell you the truth, there are things from the underworld in this yard." "You mean, there are...dirty things in this yard?" Great-grandfather asked, dragging the last three words very long, for fear of offending something. Yu Guangcai was still smiling, with a look of no surprise.He said: "Little brother, you still don't believe it? It's very simple, we can try it." Grandpa heard this, raised his head and said, "Huh, try it, if it is true, I will give you all my meat." "Okay!" Yu Guangcai's voice was particularly hearty.After finishing speaking, he turned his head and told Li Wei who was at the side, "Go and prepare something, and open the eyes of your future junior." Li Wei went out in response.
About ten minutes later, Li Wei opened the door and came in.I don't know where he went in such a short time, and his face was dirty.The third grandfather glanced at him and couldn't help laughing out loud, revealing two missing front teeth. Li Wei ignored it, leaned over to Yu Guangcai's ear and said, "Get ready." Immediately, a smile appeared on Yu Guangcai's face.He said, "Little brother, shall we start now?" Grandpa actually had a guilty conscience, but even though he was poor all his life, he was more stubborn than anyone else.After he snorted, he threw open the door and stepped out of the high threshold. Walking into the courtyard dam, with the help of the moonlight, Grandpa saw clearly the things placed in the courtyard dam.A small stool was placed in the middle, and a circle of lime was sprinkled around it, just enclosing the small stool. There was also a dark imprint on the white lime.And within two steps directly in front of the stool, there were actually three tiles, one on each side, and the roof was covered in the middle, forming the appearance of a house.Presumably, Li Wei's face was covered with dust because of these three tiles. Grandpa didn't know what it was used for, and thought that this thing could also let me see that thing? At this time, Yu Guangcai stepped forward and patted his grandfather on the shoulder: "Young man, you will sit on that little stool later, with your hands flat in front of your knees, and the more upright you can sit, then close your eyes and go on." No matter what sounds you hear when you come down, don't move around, let alone open your eyes. If you hear someone talking to you, you should close your eyes and answer him. When the time is almost up, I will open the door and come out to call you. " Grandpa responded coldly, stepped into the circle surrounded by lime without saying a word, and then sat down on the small stool. The great-grandmother was still a little worried, so she turned her head and asked Yu Guangcai: "Master Yu, will there be any problems with this?" "Don't worry, as long as he does what I say, he will be fine." Yu Guangcai told the rest of the people to enter the house. Zhang Qi walked last, he looked very curious, wishing that the person sitting on the stool was himself.After taking two steps away, he turned around again, lowered his head and said to his grandfather, "Remember to tell me how it feels when you come back later." Grandpa didn't answer Zhang Qi, who was gloating at his misfortune, and waved him away repeatedly. When Zhang Qi entered the house, Grandpa only heard a "squeak" behind him, and the door was closed.The faint light was forcibly blocked behind the heavy wooden door. Grandpa gasped, turned around, and slowly closed his eyes. At that time, the summer nights began to cool down at night.Originally, the yard was located in a low-lying place. As long as there was a gust of cool wind coming in, it would keep swirling in the ditch, making the nearby dense bamboo forest rustle. After sitting on that stool for about five minutes, Grandpa didn't open his eyes or move around, but there was nothing around except the sound of the wind and the screams of some small animals.He thought to himself, this Yu Guangcai must be playing tricks on himself, thinking that if I sit in the empty courtyard with my eyes closed for a while, I will be frightened. This is simply underestimating me! Grandpa sneered in his heart, and sleepiness suddenly came to his mind.But at this moment, he actually heard the sound of rustling footsteps coming closer and closer from the bamboo forest in front of the house, the sound sounded light and ethereal.I stepped on the path covered with bamboo leaves and walked all the way.Beside the small puddle in front of the house, the sound of footsteps suddenly disappeared. Grandpa didn't feel that the owner of the footsteps was going away, the other party was just standing at the corner of the puddle, maybe staring at him intently. After the footsteps paused for a few seconds, they walked towards Grandpa.Grandpa closed his eyes tightly, and his heart was beating violently, so he couldn't help but swallow saliva to relieve it, but it was obvious that such a method would not have a fundamental effect.The sound of footsteps floated in front of Grandpa and stopped. "Who are you?" Grandpa asked, keeping Yu Guangcai's words in mind, without opening his eyes. The owner of those footsteps seemed to have heard Grandpa's question, and knelt down in front of Grandpa with a plop.Immediately, a soft female voice came from Grandpa's ear: "Lord of the Land, my little girl didn't know this was your mountain, so I offended you so much, please forgive me." Lord of the land?Grandpa was confused by her words.Could it be that the earth temple is built with tiles in front of the stool?Thinking of it this way, grandpa's confidence was enough at once. Grandpa smiled slightly, and his voice became more forceful: "I'm asking who are you?" Hearing this, the female voice became a little nervous: "The little girl's surname is Li, and she lived in Lijiawan not far in front of her when she was alive. This time, she died in a foreign land and arrived home after walking for seven days. Please let the land master pass by." "It's not a big deal to pass by, but you didn't come to worship the god when you came here. What's your intention?" Grandpa asked. In the game, if you are not careful, you will be in trouble.So, he had no choice but to close his eyes firmly as Yu Guangcai wanted. "To tell you the truth, I lived not far away before I was alive, and I never remembered that there was a temple here. It must be that someone has invited you to Zhenshan. The death of the little girl is strange. I came back this time to clarify the matter. Second, I want to see my son." The female voice choked up. "Since you don't know about it, and I don't pursue your faults, since you have something to do, please go back quickly, and don't make trouble." Grandpa randomly found a bunch of opera lyrics in his mind, and said with a slightly childish tone. After finishing speaking, another question came up, he asked, "Do you still remember how you died?" "Woooo..." Her cry seemed very far away, as if it came from a deep well, "I just remember that I went to Tianjin with Shaohua that day, saying that I wanted to meet a friend of his, and we finished eating that day. After dinner, we went back to the hotel together, but when I slept until midnight, I woke up in a daze. The room was very dark and I couldn't see, but when I was about to get up, I covered my mouth and nose with one hand , I can’t remember anything after that.” After hearing this, Grandpa's hairs stood on end. He said: "It seems that there is indeed a grievance. I will let you go here for the time being. You can go." After grandpa finished speaking, she didn't make another sound.Grandpa only heard her get up, and just took two steps, then stopped again. What happened again?Why don't you leave?Grandpa was at a loss. At this time, he heard the female voice yelling: "You are not a land lord, who are you?!" As soon as the voice fell, Grandpa felt that she came forward quickly, and a cold hand grabbed his neck.Grandpa tried his best to catch his breath, but the air in his stomach got stuck as soon as it reached his neck, and he whimpered a few times with difficulty. Gradually, his mind felt more and more empty...
At this moment, the branches and leaves in the bamboo forest outside the yard are surging, as if the plants in the entire mountain are alive.Grandpa thought, anyway, it's all over now, so it's better to open your eyes and see what happened.He squinted his eyes forcibly, and his vision was blurry. There was a "squeak" sound behind him, and a dazzling light covered the entire courtyard.At this moment, grandpa's chest full of breath came from his neck, and the hands that were strangling his neck disappeared. Grandpa coughed violently, and when he calmed down a bit, great-grandfather and others had already stood in front of him. "Junzhi, are you alright?" Great-grandmother rushed forward with a worried look on her face, and pulled grandpa into her arms. Grandpa was almost suffocated by his great-grandmother, and finally broke free from her embrace. He gasped and said, "I finally escaped from the female ghost, and now you come again!" "What are you talking nonsense about? Your mother cares about you!" Great-grandfather's words always carried weight, so grandpa had to shut up after hearing this. "You didn't open your eyes just now, did you?" Yu Guangcai squeezed up from behind the crowd, looked around, and then smiled again, "It seems to be a woman." Hearing this, Grandpa got excited and asked, "How do you know it's a woman, it's obviously a man!" "What's so difficult about it?" Yu Guangcai knelt down, pointed to the circle of lime beside his grandfather's stool, and said, "Look at this lime." Grandpa and others took advantage of the light from the house and squatted down to look, only to see two four-inch-sized footprints on the limestone.When several people saw it, they all stared blankly. Thinking of a female ghost standing on the limestone circle and pinching him just now, Grandpa couldn't help but get scared.He turned his head and looked around. He was afraid that the female ghost hadn't gone far, but was still hiding in a corner of the yard, peeping at them with squinted eyes.Maybe he is gnashing his teeth right now, wishing he could peel off Grandpa's skin. Grandpa couldn't help shivering, and turned his gaze back. "Just now, did you encounter something interesting?" This time the person who asked the question was Li Wei. In contrast, grandpa is not disgusted with him.He said: "It's nothing, it's just that she recognized me as a land lord, but I don't know how she suddenly saw me through later." "It shouldn't be." Yu Guangcai looked around again, but found nothing wrong.After a long time, he frowned and murmured, "Could it be..." As he spoke, Yu Guangcai glanced at Li Wei, who also nodded to him.Immediately, Li Wei turned his head and asked, "Then did you say anything to her?" "Yes!" Grandpa suddenly got excited, "Don't tell me, this is really fun." Zhang Qi on the side swallowed hard, only regretting that he didn't experience this fun game with his grandfather.He hurriedly asked: "Then have you seen what she looks like? Is she good?" Grandpa heard this, and slapped Zhang Qi on the head: "Be good! I never opened my eyes from the beginning to the end!" Yu Guangcai and Li Wei didn't smile when they heard this. Yu Guangcai took a breath and asked, "Did she say her name?" "Well, she said that she was the daughter-in-law of the Li family and died in another place. She came back this time to find out the cause of her death and to see her children by the way." As soon as grandpa finished speaking, the expressions of Yu Guangcai and Li Wei changed instantly.The two looked at each other, only to hear Yu Guangcai muttering: "It turns out that he died unjustly, it seems that it is not that simple." "Any more questions? Master Yu?" Great-grandfather stepped forward and asked. Yu Guangcai narrowed his eyes and said: "Yesterday, Li Huai'en from Lijiawan sent a follower to find me, saying that my daughter-in-law died in a foreign land, and the body would be sent home tomorrow. At that time, I had other business, but the follower said, I can't do a funeral, I didn't think about it that much at the time, but now it seems that this matter is really not simple." "With Master Yu here, I believe that no matter how troublesome things are, they will be solved." The great-grandfather compared Yu Guangcai with even more confidence, "Look, our child..." Yu Guangcai laughed. He turned to his grandfather and said, "How about it? We're going to Li's house tomorrow. Are you interested?" Grandpa took a look at Yu Guangcai and said, "Go! But I'm only interested in that female ghost, and it has nothing to do with you." After the grandfather finished speaking, the group of people laughed.The moonlight that night was really bright, so bright that Grandpa could clearly see the change on Yu Guangcai's face the moment he turned around.He looked in the direction of Li's house in the valley, the eyelid of his left eye twitched a few times, his expression worried.